Step down switching regulator with the substrate of the switching transistor selectively connected to either its drain or source

ABSTRACT

A switching regulator is disclosed that is able to prevent reverse direction current flow without using a dedicated diode even when a PMOS transistor is used as a switching transistor of a step-down switching regulator. A selection circuit is provided to control connection of the substrate gate of the switching transistor, and a control circuit controls the selection circuit to connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on an input terminal of the switching regulator is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal of the switching regulator, and connect the substrate gate to the source of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a switching regulator, a power supplycircuit using the switching regulator, and a secondary cell chargingcircuit including the switching regulator, and particularly, to aswitching regulator to an output terminal of which a voltage is appliedand which has a circuit capable of preventing reverse direction flow ofan electric current to an input terminal from a power supply connectedto the output terminal.

BACKGROUND ART

In the related art, PMOS (P-channel metal oxide semiconductor)transistors are widely used as switching elements of step-down switchingregulators, and voltage control elements of linear regulators. Inaddition, power supply circuits using PMOS transistors as controlelements are employed in secondary cell charging circuits, in parallelrunning power supply circuits in which output terminals of plural powersupplies are connected to each other to supply electric power to loads,and in backup power supply circuits for executing temporary circuitbackup when the main power supply is turned off.

In these power supply circuits using PMOS transistors, when a voltagefrom another power supply circuit is applied to an output terminal ofsuch a power supply circuit, if the power supply connected to an inputterminal is disconnected, or the power supply experiences trouble, anelectric current flows in a reverse direction to the input terminal fromthe output terminal, namely, reverse direction flow occurs. Further, inthe parallel running power supply circuit, if the output voltages of thepower supplies are different, reverse direction flow also occurs.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram illustrating an equivalent circuit of atransistor.

The reason for the reverse direction flow is explained below withreference to FIG. 4.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, a diode D1 is connected between a source S anda substrate gate (also referred to as “back gate”) SG, and a diode D2 isconnected between a drain D and the substrate gate SG. The diode D1 andthe diode D2 are parasitic diodes produced when integrating the PMOStransistor into a semiconductor device.

Generally, when using a PMOS transistor as a switching element or avoltage control element of a power supply circuit, an input voltage isapplied on the source S of the PMOS transistor, and an output voltage isextracted from the drain D of the PMOS transistor.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an example of connection of thesubstrate gate to the PMOS transistor.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, in the PMOS transistor, the substrate gate SGis connected to the source S to short the parasitic diode D1. Hence,when the PMOS transistor is turned off, the parasitic diode D2 turns outto be inserted between the source and the drain in a reverse direction,so as to prevent conduction of a current from the source side connectedto the input terminal to the drain side connected to the outputterminal.

However, as described above, when a voltage is applied to the outputterminal, if the power supply connected to the input terminal isdisconnected, or the input voltage is lowered, the parasitic diode D2ends up being turned on, and as a result, an electric current flows fromthe drain side connected to the output terminal to the source sideconnected to the input terminal, namely, reverse direction flow occurs.The reverse direction flow not only degrades efficiency of the powersupply, but also causes a crash or a malfunction of the power supplycircuit; hence, it is necessary to prevent the reverse direction flow.

In order to prevent the reverse direction flow in a parallel runningpower supply circuit in which plural power supply circuits are connectedin parallel, usually, an OR diode is inserted between an output terminalof each of the power supply circuit and the load. For example, referencecan be made to Japanese Laid Open Patent Application No. 6-105464.

In addition, also in the case of a secondary cell charging circuit,usually, a diode is used to prevent the reverse direction flow. When anNMOS (N-channel metal oxide semiconductor) transistor is used as aswitching element of a step-down DC-DC converter, the NMOS transistor isable to prevent reverse direction flow. For example, reference can bemade to Japanese Laid Open Patent Application No. 2002-84742.

However, since the forward voltage of a diode is about 0.1 V_(f) aninput voltage of the diode in the forward direction has to be set toadditionally include the forward voltage. This may cause high power lossin a circuit for supplying a large current, and degrade the powerefficiency. When an NMOS transistor is used as the switching element, avoltage much greater than the output voltage has to be applied to thegate of the switching element in order to drive the switching element.Due to this, compared to a switching element using the PMOS transistor,one has to increase the difference between the input voltage and theoutput voltage, or supply the gate voltage from a voltage source havinga high output voltage. However, when increasing the difference betweenthe input voltage and the output voltage, the power efficiency degrades,and when using the high output voltage source, the circuit turns out tobe complicated and becomes expensive.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is a general object of the present invention to solve one or more ofthe problems of the related art.

A specific object of the present invention is to provide a switchingregulator capable of preventing reverse direction flow of an electriccurrent without using a dedicated diode even when a PMOS transistor isused as a switching element of a step-down switching regulator, a powersupply circuit including the switching regulator, and a secondary cellcharging circuit including the switching regulator.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda switching regulator that is a step-down switching regulator forconverting a voltage applied to an input terminal to a predeterminedvoltage and outputting the predetermined voltage from an outputterminal, said switching regulator comprising: a switching transistorformed from a PMOS transistor configured to switch ON or switch OFFoutput of the input voltage according to a control signal input to acontrol electrode; a smoothing circuit configured to smooth the outputvoltage from the switching transistor and output the smoothed voltage tothe output terminal; a selection circuit configured to controlconnection of a substrate gate of the switching transistor according tothe input control signal; and a switching transistor control circuitconfigured to control a switching operation of the switching transistorso that the voltage from the output terminal becomes the predeterminedvoltage, wherein the selection circuit connects the substrate gate to adrain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminalis lower than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, andconnects the substrate gate to a source of the switching transistor whenthe voltage on the input terminal is higher than the voltage on theoutput terminal.

As an embodiment, the switching regulator further comprises a selectioncontrol circuit that compares the voltage on the input terminal to thevoltage on the output terminal, and controls the selection operation ofthe selection circuit according to a comparison result, wherein theselection control circuit controls the selection circuit to connect thesubstrate gate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltageon the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the outputterminal, and controls the selection circuit to connect the substrategate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on theinput terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal.

As an embodiment, the selection operation of the selection circuit iscontrolled by an external selection control circuit according to thevoltage on the input terminal and the voltage on the output terminal sothat the selection circuit is controlled to connect the substrate gateto the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the inputterminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal,and connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switching transistorwhen the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage onthe output terminal.

As an embodiment, the switching regulator further comprises a switchingcircuit that connects a gate of the switching transistor to the drain ofthe switching transistor, wherein when the voltage on the input terminalis less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, based on acontrol signal from the selection control circuit, the switching circuitconnects the gate of the switching transistor to the drain of theswitching transistor while the switching transistor control circuitstops output of the control signal to the gate of the switchingtransistor; and when the voltage on the input terminal is greater thanthe voltage on the output terminal, based on the control signal from theselection control circuit, the switching circuit disconnects the gate ofthe switching transistor from the source of the switching transistorwhile the switching transistor control circuit outputs the controlsignal to the gate of the switching transistor.

As an embodiment, the switching circuit includes a field effecttransistor (FET).

As an embodiment, the selection circuit includes a field effecttransistor (FET).

As an embodiment, the smoothing circuit includes a synchronizationrectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistorin series and is controlled by the switching transistor control circuitto be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, thesynchronization rectification transistor, the selection circuit, theselection control circuit, the switching transistor control circuit, andthe switching circuit are integrated into one IC chip.

As an embodiment, the smoothing circuit includes a synchronizationrectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistorin series and is controlled by the switching transistor control circuitto be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, thesynchronization rectification transistor, the selection circuit, theswitching transistor control circuit, and the switching circuit areintegrated into one IC chip.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda power supply circuit, comprising one or more step-down switchingregulators configured to convert a voltage applied to an input terminalto a predetermined voltage and output the predetermined voltage from anoutput terminal; and one or more linear regulators, wherein theswitching regulator comprises: a switching transistor formed from a PMOStransistor configured to switch ON or switch OFF output of the inputvoltage according to a control signal input to a control electrode; asmoothing circuit configured to smooth the output voltage from theswitching transistor and output the smoothed voltage to the outputterminal; a first selection circuit configured to control connection ofa substrate gate of the switching transistor according to the inputcontrol signal, the first selection circuit connecting the substrategate to a drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on theinput terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the outputterminal, and connecting the substrate gate to a source of the switchingtransistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than thevoltage on the output terminal; and a switching transistor controlcircuit configured to control a switching operation of the switchingtransistor so that the voltage from the output terminal becomes thepredetermined voltage.

As an embodiment, the linear regulator comprises: a voltage controltransistor that includes a PMOS transistor configured to control acurrent from the input terminal to the output terminal to control thevoltage on the output terminal; a second selection circuit configured tocontrol connection of the substrate gate of the voltage controltransistor; a second switching transistor control circuit configured tocontrol a switching operation of the switching transistor so that thevoltage from the output terminal becomes the predetermined voltage; asecond selection control circuit that controls the selection operationof the selection circuit according to the voltage on the input terminaland the voltage on the output terminal, the second selection circuitconnecting the substrate gate to a drain of the voltage controltransistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equalto the voltage on the output terminal, and connecting the substrate gateto a source of the voltage control transistor when the voltage on theinput terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal; and avoltage control transistor control circuit configured to control thevoltage control transistor so that the voltage from the output terminalbecomes the predetermined voltage.

As an embodiment, the switching regulator further comprises a firstselection control circuit that compares the voltage on the inputterminal to the voltage on the output terminal, and controls theselection operation of the first selection circuit according to acomparison result, wherein the first selection control circuit controlsthe first selection circuit to connect the substrate gate to the drainof the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal isless than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and controlsthe first selection circuit to connect the substrate gate to the drainof the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal isgreater than the voltage on the output terminal.

As an embodiment, the selection operation of the first selection circuitis controlled by an external selection control circuit according to thevoltage on the input terminal and the voltage on the output terminal sothat the first selection circuit is controlled to connect the substrategate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on theinput terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the outputterminal, and connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switchingtransistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than thevoltage on the output terminal.

As an embodiment, the switching regulator further comprises a switchingcircuit that connects a gate of the switching transistor to the drain ofthe switching transistor, wherein when the voltage on the input terminalis less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, based on acontrol signal from the first selection control circuit, the switchingcircuit connects the gate of the switching transistor to the drain ofthe switching transistor while the switching transistor control circuitstops output of the control signal to the gate of the switchingtransistor; and when the voltage on the input terminal is greater thanthe voltage on the output terminal, based on the control signal from thefirst selection control circuit, the switching circuit disconnects thegate of the switching transistor from the source of the switchingtransistor while the switching transistor control circuit outputs thecontrol signal to the gate of the switching transistor.

As an embodiment, the smoothing circuit includes a synchronizationrectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistorin series and controlled by the switching transistor control circuit tobe switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, thesynchronization rectification transistor, the first selection circuit,the first selection control circuit, the switching transistor controlcircuit, the switching circuit, and the linear regulator are integratedinto one IC chip.

As an embodiment, the smoothing circuit includes a synchronizationrectification transistor connected to the switching transistor in seriesand controlled by the switching transistor control circuit to beswitched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, thesynchronization rectification transistor, the first selection circuit,the switching transistor control circuit, the switching circuit, and thelinear regulator are integrated into one IC chip.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provideda power supply circuit, comprising: a plurality of step-down switchingregulators each configured to convert a voltage applied on an inputterminal to a predetermined voltage and output the predetermined voltagefrom an output terminal, wherein each of the switching regulatorscomprises: a switching transistor formed from a PMOS transistorconfigured to switch ON or switch OFF output of the input voltageaccording to a control signal input to a control electrode; a smoothingcircuit configured to smooth the output voltage from the switchingtransistor and output the smoothed voltage to the output terminal; aselection circuit configured to control connection of a substrate gateof the switching transistor according to the input control signal, theselection circuit connecting the substrate gate to a drain of theswitching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less thanor equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and connecting thesubstrate gate to a source of the switching transistor when the voltageon the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the outputterminal; and a switching transistor control circuit configured tocontrol a switching operation of the switching transistor so that thevoltage from the output terminal becomes the predetermined voltage.

As an embodiment, the switching regulator further comprises: a selectioncontrol circuit that compares the voltage on the input terminal to thevoltage on the output terminal, and controls the selection operation ofthe selection circuit according to a comparison result, wherein theselection control circuit controls the selection circuit to connect thesubstrate gate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltageon the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the outputterminal, and controls the selection circuit to connect the substrategate with the source of the switching transistor when the voltage on theinput terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal.

As an embodiment, the selection operation of the selection circuit iscontrolled by an external selection control circuit according to thevoltage on the input terminal and the voltage on the output terminal sothat the selection circuit is controlled to connect the substrate gateto the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the inputterminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal,and connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switching transistorwhen the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage onthe output terminal.

As an embodiment, the switching regulator further comprises a switchingcircuit that connects a gate of the switching transistor to the drain ofthe switching transistor, wherein when the voltage on the input terminalis less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, based on acontrol signal from the selection control circuit, the switching circuitconnects the gate of the switching transistor to the drain of theswitching transistor while the switching transistor control circuitstops output of the control signal to the gate of the switchingtransistor; and when the voltage on the input terminal is greater thanthe voltage on the output terminal, based on the control signal from theselection control circuit, the switching circuit disconnects the gate ofthe switching transistor from the source of the switching transistorwhile the switching transistor control circuit outputs the controlsignal to the gate of the switching transistor.

As an embodiment, the smoothing circuit includes a synchronizationrectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistorin series and is controlled by the switching transistor control circuitto be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, thesynchronization rectification transistor, the selection circuit, theselection control circuit, the switching transistor control circuit, andthe switching circuit are integrated into one IC chip.

As an embodiment, the smoothing circuit includes a synchronizationrectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistorin series and is controlled by the switching transistor control circuitto be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, thesynchronization rectification transistor, the selection circuit, theswitching transistor control circuit, and the switching circuit areintegrated into one IC chip.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda secondary cell charging circuit, comprising a step-down switchingregulator configured to convert a voltage applied on an input terminalto a predetermined voltage and output the predetermined voltage from anoutput terminal, a secondary cell being connected to the outputterminal, wherein the switching regulator comprises: a switchingtransistor formed from a PMOS transistor configured to switch ON orswitch OFF output of the input voltage according to a control signalinput to a control electrode; a smoothing circuit configured to smooththe output voltage from the switching transistor and output the smoothedvoltage to the output terminal; a selection circuit configured tocontrol connection of a substrate gate of the switching transistoraccording to the input control signal, the selection circuit connectingthe substrate gate to a drain of the switching transistor when thevoltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage onthe output terminal, and connecting the substrate gate to a source ofthe switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal isgreater than the voltage on the output terminal; and a switchingtransistor control circuit configured to control a switching operationof the switching transistor so that the voltage from the output terminalbecomes the predetermined voltage.

As an embodiment, the switching regulator further comprises: a selectioncontrol circuit that compares the voltage on the input terminal to thevoltage on the output terminal, and controls the selection operation ofthe selection circuit according to a comparison result, wherein theselection control circuit controls the selection circuit to connect thesubstrate gate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltageon the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the outputterminal, and controls the selection circuit to connect the substrategate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on theinput terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal.

As an embodiment, the selection operation of the selection circuit iscontrolled by an external selection control circuit according to thevoltage on the input terminal and the voltage on the output terminal sothat the selection circuit is controlled to connect the substrate gateto the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the inputterminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal,and connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switching transistorwhen the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage onthe output terminal.

As an embodiment, the switching regulator further comprises: a switchingcircuit that connects a gate of the switching transistor to the drain ofthe switching transistor, wherein when the voltage on the input terminalis less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, based on acontrol signal from the selection control circuit, the switching circuitconnects the gate of the switching transistor to the drain of theswitching transistor while the switching transistor control circuitstops output of the control signal to the gate of the switchingtransistor; and when the voltage on the input terminal is greater thanthe voltage on the output terminal, based on the control signal from theselection control circuit, the switching circuit disconnects the gate ofthe switching transistor from the source of the switching transistorwhile the switching transistor control circuit outputs the controlsignal to the gate of the switching transistor.

As an embodiment, the smoothing circuit includes a synchronizationrectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistorin series and is controlled by the switching transistor control circuitto be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, thesynchronization rectification transistor, the selection circuit, theselection control circuit, the switching transistor control circuit, andthe switching circuit are integrated into one IC chip.

As an embodiment, the smoothing circuit includes a synchronizationrectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistorin series and is controlled by the switching transistor control circuitto be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, thesynchronization rectification transistor, the selection circuit, theswitching transistor control circuit, and the switching circuit areintegrated into one IC chip.

According to the switching regulator and the secondary cell chargingcircuit of the present invention, when the voltage on the input terminalis less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, theselection circuit is controlled to connect the substrate gate of theswitching transistor to the drain of the switching transistor, which isa PMOS transistor, and when the voltage on the input terminal is greaterthan the voltage on the output terminal, the selection circuit iscontrolled to connect the substrate gate of the switching transistor tothe drain of the switching transistor. Due to this, even when a powersupply is connected to the output terminal, it is possible to preventthe reverse direction flow of a current to the input terminal. Because adiode is not used for preventing the reverse direction flow, as in therelated art, a voltage drop across the diode does not occur, and thisfurther improves power efficiency.

According to the power supply circuit of the present invention, when thevoltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage onthe output terminal, the first selection circuit is controlled toconnect the substrate gate of the switching transistor to the drain ofthe switching transistor, which is a PMOS transistor, and when thevoltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the outputterminal, the first selection circuit is controlled to connect thesubstrate gate of the switching transistor to the drain of the switchingtransistor.

In addition, when the power supply circuit includes a switchingregulator and a linear regulator to output specified voltages to thesame output terminal, when the voltage on the input terminal is lessthan or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, the first andsecond selection circuits are controlled to connect the substrate gateof the switching transistor to the drain of the switching transistor,which is a PMOS transistor, and when the voltage on the input terminalis greater than the voltage on the output terminal, the first and secondselection circuits are controlled to connect the substrate gate of theswitching transistor to the drain of the switching transistor.

Due to this, even when a power supply is connected to the outputterminal, it is possible to prevent the reverse direction flow of acurrent to the input terminal. Because a dedicated diode is not used forpreventing the reverse direction flow, as in the related art, a voltagedrop across the diode does not occur, and this further improves powerefficiency.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments given with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram exemplifying a switching regulator accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram exemplifying a power supply circuit whichemploys the switching regulator 1 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram exemplifying another switching regulatoraccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram illustrating an equivalent circuit of a PMOStransistor; and

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an example of connection of thesubstrate gate to the PMOS transistor.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Below, preferred embodiments of the present invention are explained withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram exemplifying a switching regulator accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, in a step-down switching regulator 1, a DC(direct current) power supply 10 is connected between an input terminalIN and ground, and the DC power supply 10 supplies an input voltage Vddto the input terminal IN. The step-down switching regulator 1 convertsthe input voltage Vdd to a predetermined voltage and outputs thepredetermined voltage from an output terminal OUT. A load 11 isconnected between the output terminal OUT and ground.

The switching regulator 1 includes a switching transistor M1, which is aPMOS transistor, for controlling outputting of the input voltage Vddsupplied to the input terminal IN, a synchronization rectificationtransistor M2, which is an NMOS transistor, an inductor L and acondenser C for smoothing a voltage signal, and resistors R1, R2 whichdivide a voltage Vout output from the output terminal OUT to generate adivisional voltage VdI (thus, the resistors R1, R2 are referred to as“output voltage detection resistors”).

In addition, the switching regulator 1 includes a reference voltagegeneration circuit 2 which generates a certain reference voltage VrI, anerror amplifier 3 which compares the divisional voltage VdI to thereference voltage VrI, and generates a voltage Ver according to thecomparison result, a triangular wave generation circuit 4 whichgenerates a triangular wave TW having a specified frequency, and a PWMcontrol circuit 5 which performs PWM control on the switching transistorM1 and the synchronization rectification transistor M2 based on theoutput voltage Ver from the error amplifier 3 and the triangular waveTW, so as to switch ON or switch OFF the switching transistor M1 and thesynchronization rectification transistor M2.

In addition, the switching regulator 1 includes a selection switch SW1for controlling connection of a substrate gate of the switchingtransistor M1, and a switch SW2 that connects the gate and the drain ofthe switching transistor M1, an input output comparator 6 which comparesthe input voltage Vdd to the output voltage Vout, and controlsoperations of the selection switch SW1 and the switch SW2 according tothe comparison result.

In the switching transistor M1, a parasitic diode D1 is formed betweenthe source and the substrate gate (also referred to as “back gate”), anda parasitic diode D2 is formed between the drain and the substrate gate.

The reference voltage generation circuit 2, the error amplifier 3, thetriangular wave generation circuit 4, and the PWM control circuit 5constitute a switching control circuit 18. In addition, in the switchingregulator 1, except for the inductor L and the condenser c, otherelements can be integrated into one IC chip.

Further, the synchronization rectification transistor M2, the inductor Land the condenser C correspond to the smoothing circuit in claims, theselection switch SW1 corresponds to the selection circuit in claims, theselection switch SW2 corresponds to the switching circuit in claims, theinput output comparator 6 corresponds to the selection control circuitin claims, and the reference voltage generation circuit 2, the erroramplifier 3, the triangular wave generation circuit 4, the PWM controlcircuit 5 (namely, the switching control circuit 18), and the resistorsR1, R2 constitute the switching transistor control circuit in claims.

The PWM control circuit 5 includes a PWM circuit 15 and a drive circuit16. The PWM circuit 15 generates a pulse signal Spw for PWM control fromthe output voltage Ver from the error amplifier 3 and the triangularwave TW output by the triangular wave generation circuit 4.

The drive circuit 16, in response to the pulse signal Spw from the PWMcircuit 15, generates a control signal PD for switching operation of theswitching transistor M1, and generates a control signal ND for switchingoperation of the synchronization rectification transistor M2 to drivethe switching transistor M1 and the synchronization rectificationtransistor M2

The switching transistor M1 and the synchronization rectificationtransistor M2 are connected in series between the input terminal IN andground; the inductor L is connected between the output terminal OUT andthe connecting portion of the switching transistor M1 and thesynchronization rectification transistor M2; the condenser C isconnected between the output terminal OUT and ground; and in parallelwith the condenser c, the resistors R1 and R2 are connected between theoutput terminal OUT and ground in series. The connecting portion of theresistors R1 and R2 is connected to an inverted input terminal of theerror amplifier 3, and the reference voltage VrI is input to thenon-inverted input terminal of the error amplifier 3.

The output voltage Ver from the error amplifier 3 is supplied to theinverted input terminal of a comparator, which serves as the PWM circuit15. The pulse signal Spw from the PWM circuit 15 is supplied to thenon-inverted input terminal of the drive circuit 16. The drive circuit16 supplies the control signal PD to the gate of the switchingtransistor M1 for switching control of the switching transistor M1, andsupplies the control signal ND to the gate of the synchronizationrectification transistor M2 for switching control of the synchronizationrectification transistor M2.

A COM terminal of the selection switch SW1 is connected to the substrategate of the switching transistor M1, an S terminal of the selectionswitch SW1 is connected to the source of the switching transistor M1,and a D terminal of the selection switch SW1 is connected to the drainof the switching transistor M1.

The switch SW2 is connected between the gate and the drain of theswitching transistor M1.

The voltage on the input terminal IN and the voltage on the outputterminal OUT are input to the input output comparator 6, and in responseto the difference between the two voltages, the input output comparator6 controls switching ON and switching OFF of the selection switch SW1and the switch SW2, and controls outputting of the control signals PDand ND in the drive circuit 16.

With the above configuration, the switching transistor M1 is switched ONor OFF. When the switching transistor M1 is switched ON, an electriccurrent is supplied to the inductor L. At this moment, thesynchronization rectification transistor M2 is turned OFF. When theswitching transistor M1 is switched OFF, the synchronizationrectification transistor M2 is turned ON, and the energy stored in theinductor L is released through the synchronization rectificationtransistor M2 The current generated at this moment is smoothed by thecondenser c, and is output to the load 11 through the output terminalOUT.

The output voltage Vout from the output terminal OUT is divided by thevoltage detection resistors R1, R2, and the divisional voltage VdI isinput to the inverted input terminal of the error amplifier 3.

When the output voltage Vout of the switching regulator 1 rises, theoutput voltage of the error amplifier 3 is lowered, and thus, the dutycycle of the pulse signal Spw, which is output from the PWM circuit 15,decreases. As a result, the duration when the switching transistor M1 isON becomes short, and the output voltage Vout of the switching regulator1 is controlled to be lowered. To the contrary, when the output voltageVout of the switching regulator 1 lowers, operations opposite to theabove are executed, and in this way, the output voltage Vout of theswitching regulator 1 is controlled to be constant.

When the voltage on the input terminal IN is less than or equal to thevoltage on the output terminal OUT, the input output comparator 6connects the COM terminal to the D terminal so as to connect thesubstrate gate with the drain of the switching transistor M1. At thesame time, the input output comparator 6 turns on the switch SW2, andconnects the gate of the switching transistor M1 with the drain of theswitching transistor M1, and stops outputting the control signal PD fromthe drive circuit 16, thereby making the output terminal OUT to be in ahigh impedance state. Here, although it is assumed that the voltage onthe input terminal IN is less than or equal to the voltage on the outputterminal OUT, the same is true even when the input terminal IN is lessthan or approximately equal to the voltage on the output terminal OUT.

In this way, the parasitic diode D2 of the switching transistor M1 isshorted, and in the switching transistor M1, the parasitic diode D1 isin a connection state along a direction from the source to the substrategate. Due to this, the switching transistor M1 is able to preventcurrent flow from the output terminal OUT to the input terminal IN withthe parasitic diode D1.

When the voltage on the input terminal IN is greater than the voltage onthe output terminal OUT, the input output comparator 6 connects the COMterminal to the S terminal so as to connect the substrate gate to thesource of the switching transistor M1. At the same time, the inputoutput comparator 6 turns off the switch SW2, and disconnects the gateof the switching transistor M1 from the drain of the switchingtransistor M1, and starts outputting the control signal PD to the drivecircuit 16. Here, although it is assumed that the voltage on the inputterminal IN is higher than the voltage on the output terminal OUT, butthe same is true even when the input terminal IN is higher than thevoltage on the output terminal OUT by a certain value.

In this way, the parasitic diode D1 of the switching transistor M1 isshorted, and in the switching transistor M1, and the parasitic diode D2is in a connection state along a direction from the drain to thesubstrate gate. Due to this, the switching transistor M1, is able toprevent current flow from the input terminal IN to the output terminalOUT with the parasitic diode D2.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram exemplifying a power supply circuit whichemploys the switching regulator 1 in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, the samereference numbers are assigned to the same elements as those in FIG. 1,and overlapping descriptions are omitted.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a power supply circuit 20 includes theswitching regulator 1 and a linear regulator 21. Output terminals of theswitching regulator 1 and the linear regulator 21 are connected to theoutput terminal OUT of the power supply circuit 20. The input terminalof the switching regulator 1 is connected to the input terminal IN1 ofthe power supply circuit 20, and the input terminal of the linearregulator 21 is connected to the input terminal IN2 of the power supplycircuit 20.

A DC power supply 22, such as a battery cell, is connected between theinput terminal IN1 and ground, and the DC power supply 22 supplies aninput voltage Vdd1 to the input terminal IN1.

In addition, a DC power supply 23, such as a battery cell, is connectedbetween the input terminal IN2 and ground, and the DC power supply 23supplies an input voltage Vdd2 to the input terminal IN2.

The linear regulator 21 includes a reference voltage generation circuit31 which generates a reference voltage Vr2; an error amplifier 32 whichcompares the divisional voltage VdI to the reference voltage Vr2, andgenerates a voltage signal in response to the comparison result; avoltage control transistor M21, which is a PMOS transistor and acts tooutput a current in response to a voltage input from the error amplifier32 to control the voltage on the output terminal OUT; a selection switchSW21 which controls connection of the substrate gate of the voltagecontrol transistor M21; and an input output comparator 33 which comparesthe input voltage Vdd2 on the input terminal IN2 to the output voltageon the output terminal OUT, and controls operations of the selectionswitch SW21 in response to the comparison result.

In the voltage control transistor M21, a parasitic diode D21 is formedbetween the source and the substrate gate, and a parasitic diode D22 isformed between the drain and the substrate gate.

The switching regulator 1 and the linear regulator 21 commonly share thecondenser C and the voltage detection resistors R1 and R2. In addition,except for the inductor L and the condenser c, other elements of theswitching regulator 1 and the linear regulator 21 can be integrated intoone IC chip.

Further, the selection switch SW1 corresponds to the first selectioncircuit in claims, the switching control circuit 18 and the resistorsR1, R2 constitute the switching transistor control circuit in claims,the selection switch SW21 corresponds to the second selection circuit inclaims, the input output comparator 33 corresponds to the secondselection control circuit in claims, and the reference voltagegeneration circuit 31, the error amplifier 32, and the resistors R1, R2constitute the voltage control transistor control circuit in claims.

The linear regulator 21 converts the input voltage Vdd2 to apredetermined voltage and outputs the predetermined voltage from theoutput terminal OUT. A load 11 is connected between the output terminalOUT and ground.

The voltage control transistor M21 is connected between the inputterminal IN2 and the output terminal OUT. The connecting portion of theresistors R1 and R2 is connected to the non-inverted input terminal ofthe error amplifier 32, and the reference voltage Vr2 is input to theinverted input terminal of the error amplifier 32. The output terminalof the error amplifier 32 is connected to the gate of the voltagecontrol transistor M21.

The COM terminal of the selection switch SW21 is connected to thesubstrate gate of the voltage control transistor M21, an S terminal ofthe selection switch SW21 is connected to the source of the voltagecontrol transistor M21, and a D terminal of the selection switch SW21 isconnected to the drain of the voltage control transistor M21.

The voltage on the input terminal IN2 and the voltage on the outputterminal OUT are input to the input output comparator 33, and inresponse to the difference between the two voltages, the input outputcomparator 33 controls switching ON and switching OFF the selectionswitch SW21.

The linear regulator 21 serves as a backup power supply of the step-downswitching regulator 1, which acts as a main power supply. The outputvoltage of the linear regulator 21 is set to be slightly lower than theoutput voltage of the switching regulator 1.

Below, descriptions are made assuming that the voltage Vdd1 of thebattery cell 22 is 5 V, the output voltage of the switching regulator 1is 2.5 V, the voltage Vdd2 of the battery cell 23 is 3 V, and the outputvoltage of the linear regulator 21 is 2.4 V.

When the switching regulator 1 is in operation, the output voltage Voutof the output terminal becomes 2.5 V. Since the voltage Vdd1 on theinput terminal IN1 is 5V, it is greater than the output voltage Vout ofthe output terminal. Hence, the input output comparator 6 controls theswitch SW1 so as to connect the substrate gate with the source of theswitching transistor M1. At this moment, as described above, the inputoutput comparator 6 turns off the switch SW2, disconnects the gate ofthe switching transistor M1 from the drain of the switching transistorM1, and starts outputting the control signal PD from the switchingcontrol circuit 18.

Similarly, in the linear regulator 21, since the voltage Vdd2 on theinput terminal IN2 is 3 V, it is greater than the output voltage Vout ofthe output terminal, so the input output comparator 33 controls theselection switch SW21 so as to connect the substrate gate to the sourceof the voltage control transistor M21.

In the voltage control transistor M21, even when the substrate gate isconnected to the source with the selection switch SW21, since thevoltage Vdd2 on the input terminal IN2 is greater than the outputvoltage Vout of the output terminal OUT, the parasitic diode D22 of thevoltage control transistor M21 is turned off, and the reverse directionflow of the current does not occur.

When the switching regulator 1 is not in operation, as the linearregulator 21 supplies electric power to the output terminal OUT, thevoltage Vout on the output terminal OUT becomes 2.4 V. In this state,although the switch SW1 is controlled so that the substrate gate of theswitching transistor M1 is connected to the source of the switchingtransistor M1, a voltage of 5 V is applied on the input terminal IN1 ofthe switching regulator 1, so the switching transistor M1 does not causereverse direction current flow.

In addition, when the DC power supply 22 of the switching regulator 1 isnot present, because the linear regulator 21 supplies electric power tothe output terminal OUT, the voltage on the output terminal OUT becomes2.4 V. In this state, the voltage Vdd1 on the input terminal IN1 of theswitching regulator 1 decreases to be close to the output voltage Vout.Due to this, the input output comparator 6 switches the selection switchSW1 so as to connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switchingtransistor M1, turns on the switch SW2 to connect the gate of theswitching transistor M1 to the drain of the switching transistor M1, andsimultaneously sets the output terminal in a high impedance state tostop outputting of the control signal PD. Due to this, the parasiticdiode D1 turns out to be inserted between the output terminal OUT andthe input terminal IN1 in the reversed direction, and this enablesprevention of the reverse direction current flow.

Next, when the battery cell 23 of the linear regulator 21 is notpresent, if the switching regulator 1 is in operation, the voltage onthe output terminal OUT becomes 2.5 V. In this state, the voltage Vdd2on the input terminal IN2 of the linear regulator 21 decreases to beclose to the output voltage Vout on the output terminal OUT. Due tothis, the input output comparator 33 switches the selection switch SW21so as to connect the substrate gate with the drain of the voltagecontrol transistor M21. Due to this, the parasitic diode D21 turns outto be inserted between the output terminal OUT and the input terminalIN2 in the reversed direction, and this enables prevention of thereverse direction current flow.

In the above, the descriptions are made with the power supply circuit 20as shown in FIG. 2 as an example, which includes the switching regulator1 and the linear regulator 21, but the present embodiment is alsoapplicable to a power supply circuit including only a number ofstep-down switching regulators having the same output voltage, or apower supply circuit including only a number of linear regulators, andthe power supply circuit is in a parallel running mode, namely, outputterminals OUT of the switching regulators or linear regulators areconnected to each other. Also in such a power supply circuit, each ofthe switching regulators or linear regulators is able to prevent thereverse direction current flow.

As described above, when the voltage on the input terminal is less thanor equal to the voltage on the output terminal, the selection transistoris switched so as to connect the substrate gate with the drain of theswitching transistor or the voltage control transistor, which is a PMOStransistor. When the voltage on the input terminal is greater than thevoltage on the output terminal, the selection transistor is switched soas to connect the substrate gate with the source of the switchingtransistor or the voltage control transistor. And as a result, it ispossible to prevent the reverse direction current flow from the outputterminal to the input terminal.

Here, as comparison conditions of the input output comparator, it isassumed that the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal tothe voltage on the output terminal. However, when the voltage on theoutput terminal appears on the input terminal through the parasiticdiode D2, if the current is very small, the voltage on the inputterminal is approximately equal to the voltage on the output terminal.Therefore, taking into consideration offset voltages or otheruncertainties in the input output comparator, it can be designated toconnect the substrate gate with the drain when the voltage on the inputterminal is lowered to a value slightly higher than the voltage on theoutput terminal.

In addition, as the condition for connecting the substrate gate back tothe source, it is assumed that the voltage on the input terminal ishigher than the voltage on the output terminal, but this condition mayalso be designated to connect the substrate gate back to the source whenthe voltage on the input terminal is higher than the voltage on theoutput terminal by a certain value. In this case, the certain voltagevalue may be approximately determined based on the AC adaptor actuallyconnected to the input terminal, and based on the relation between theinput voltage and the output voltage.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram exemplifying another switching regulatoraccording to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 illustratesusage of the switching regulator in a secondary cell charging circuit.In addition, In FIG. 3, the same reference numbers are assigned to thesame elements as those in FIG. 1, and overlapping descriptions areomitted.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, a charging circuit 40 uses an AC adaptor 51,which is connected to an input terminal ADi, to charge a secondary cell52, which is connected to an output terminal BTo.

The charging circuit 40 includes a step-down switching regulator 41, acharging current detection resistor 42 that converts a charging currentio flowing to the output terminal BTo to a voltage, a current detectioncircuit 43 that generates a voltage V1 related to the charging currentio from the voltages at the two ends of the resistor 42 and controlsoperations of the switching regulator 41, an adaptor detection circuit44 that detects whether the AC adaptor 51 is connected to the inputterminal ADi and outputs a signal Sa indicating the detection result,and a charging control circuit 45 that turns ON or OFF the switchingregulator 41 in response to the signal Sa from the adaptor detectioncircuit 44 and a control signal Sc from outside.

The switching regulator 41 includes a switching transistor M1, which isa PMOS transistor, for controlling outputting of the input voltage Vddsupplied to the input terminal ADi, a synchronization rectificationtransistor M2, which is an NMOS transistor, an inductor L and acondenser C for smoothing a voltage signal, and output voltage detectionresistors R1I, R12 which divide a voltage Vo output from the outputterminal BTo to generate a divisional voltage Vd3.

In addition, the switching regulator 41 includes a reference voltagegeneration circuit 7 which generates a certain reference voltage Vr3; anerror amplifier 8 which compares the divisional voltage Vd3 to thereference voltage Vr3, and generates a voltage in response to thecomparison result; and a control voltage generation circuit 9 whichgenerates a control voltage V2 in response to the output voltage fromthe error amplifier 8.

In addition, the switching regulator 41 includes an error amplifier 3which compares the voltage V1 output from the current detection circuit43 to the control voltage V2 from the control voltage generation circuit9, and generates a voltage Ver in response to the comparison result; atriangular wave generation circuit 4 which generates a triangular waveTW having a specified frequency; and a PWM control circuit 5 which,based on the output voltage Ver from the error amplifier 3 and thetriangular wave TW, performs the PWM control on the switching transistorM1 and the synchronization rectification transistor M2 so as to switchON or switch OFF the switching transistor M1 and the synchronizationrectification transistor M2.

In addition, the switching regulator 41 includes a selection switch SW1for controlling connection of a substrate gate of the switchingtransistor M1 and a switch SW2 that connects the gate and the drain ofthe switching transistor M1 an input output comparator 6 which comparesthe input voltage on the input terminal ADi to the output voltage on theoutput terminal BTo and controls operations of the selection switch SW1and the switch SW2 according to the comparison result.

Except for the inductor L and the condenser c, other elements of thecharging circuit 40 can be integrated into one IC chip. Further, theerror amplifiers 3, 8, the triangular wave generation circuit 4, and thePWM control circuit 5, the reference voltage generation circuit 7, andthe resistors RI1, R12 constitute a control circuit.

The switching transistor M1 and the synchronization rectificationtransistor M2 are connected in series between the input terminal ADi andground, the inductor L is connected to the connecting portion of theswitching transistor M1 and the synchronization rectification transistorM2, and the condenser C is connected between the other end of theinductor L and ground.

One end of the resistor 42 is connected to the connecting portion of theinductor L and the condenser c, which form the output end of theswitching regulator 41. The other end of the resistor 42 is connected tothe output terminal BTo.

The resistors R1I and R12 are connected between the output terminal BToand ground in series. The connecting portion of the resistors RI1 andR12 is connected to the inverted input terminal of the error amplifier8, and the reference voltage Vr3 is input to the non-inverted inputterminal of the error amplifier 8.

The output voltage from the error amplifier 8 is supplied to the controlvoltage generation circuit 9, and the control voltage V2 output from thecontrol voltage generation circuit 9 is input to the inverted inputterminal of the error amplifier 3.

Before the divisional voltage Vd3 equals the reference voltage Vr3, theoutput voltage from the error amplifier 8 is nearly equal to a powervoltage of the error amplifier 8, and the control voltage V2 output fromthe control voltage generation circuit 9 is constant. Because PWMcontrol is performed so that the constant voltage V2 nearly equals thevoltage V1 output from the current detection circuit 43, in this period,a constant current is supplied to the secondary cell 52 to charge thesecondary cell 52.

When the divisional voltage Vd3 exceeds the reference voltage Vr3, theoutput voltage from the error amplifier 8 decreases, and in response tothe decrease of the output voltage, the control voltage V2 output fromthe control voltage generation circuit 9 decreases gradually, and thePWM control circuit 5 performs PWM control on the switching transistorM1 and the synchronization rectification transistor M2 so as to supply aconstant voltage to charge the secondary cell 52.

That is, the reference voltage Vr3 acts as a threshold voltage forswitching from a constant current charging mode, in which a constantcurrent is supplied to charge the secondary cell 52, to a constantvoltage charging mode, in which a constant voltage is supplied to chargethe secondary cell 52.

The voltage V1 from the current detection circuit 43 is input to thenon-inverted input terminal of the error amplifier 3, and the outputvoltage Ver from the error amplifier 3 and the triangular wave TW areinput to the PWM control circuit 5.

From the output voltage Ver and the triangular wave TW, the PWM controlcircuit 5 generates a control signal PD for switching the switchingtransistor M1 and outputs the control signal PD to the gate of theswitching transistor M1, and generates a control signal ND for switchingthe synchronization rectification transistor M2, and outputs the controlsignal ND to the gate of the synchronization rectification transistor M2The adaptor detection circuit 44 determines that the AC adaptor 51 isconnected to the input terminal ADi when the voltage Vdd on the inputterminal ADi is higher than a predetermined value or is in apredetermined range, and outputs the signal Sa to the charging controlcircuit 45, which indicates that the AC adaptor 51 is connected to theinput terminal ADi.

Receiving the signal Sa indicating that the AC adaptor 51 is connectedto the input terminal ADi, the charging control circuit 45 startsoperations of the PWM circuit 15 and the drive circuit 16 (see FIG. 1)of the PWM control circuit 5 to starts operations of the PWM controlcircuit 5. On the other hand, if the signal Sa indicates that the ACadaptor 51 is not connected to the input terminal ADi, the chargingcontrol circuit 45 stops operations of the PWM circuit 15 and the drivecircuit 16 of the PWM control circuit 5 to stop operations of the PWMcontrol circuit 5, and to turn off the switching transistor M1 and thesynchronization rectification transistor M2. Further, the control signalSc from an external control circuit (not illustrated) is input to thecharging control circuit 45, and in response to the control signal Sc,the charging control circuit 45 controls the PWM control circuit 5 inthe same way as above.

In this way, the PWM control circuit 5 starts operations or stopsoperations in response to the control signal from the charging controlcircuit 45. In response to the output voltage Ver from the erroramplifier 3 and the triangular wave TW from the triangular wavegeneration circuit 4, the PWM control circuit 5, which is in operation,alternately switches ON or OFF the switching transistor M1 and thesynchronization rectification transistor M2, lowers the voltage providedby the AC adaptor 51 connected to the input terminal ADi, and outputsthe lowered voltage through the output terminal BTo.

A COM terminal of the selection switch SW1 is connected to the substrategate of the switching transistor M1, an S terminal of the selectionswitch SW1 is connected to the source of the switching transistor M1,and a D terminal of the selection switch SW1 is connected to the drainof the switching transistor M1.

The voltage on the input terminal ADi and the voltage on the outputterminal BTo are input to the input output comparator 6, and in responseto the difference between the two voltages, the input output comparator6 controls switching ON and switching OFF of the selection switch SW1and the switch SW2, and controls outputting of the control signal PD inthe drive circuit 16 of the PWM circuit 15.

In the above configuration, when the AC adaptor 51 is connected to theinput terminal ADi, since the voltage on the input terminal ADi ishigher than the voltage on the output terminal BTo by a certain value,the input output comparator 6 connects the COM terminal of the selectionswitch SW1 to the S terminal of the selection switch SW1, and connectsthe substrate gate of the switching transistor M1 to the source of theswitching transistor M1. At the same time, the input output comparator 6turns off the switch SW2, disconnects the gate of the switchingtransistor M1 from the drain of the switching transistor M1, and startsoutputting the control signal PD to the drive circuit 16 of the PWMcontrol circuit 5. In addition, the adaptor detection circuit 44 detectsthat the AC adaptor 51 is connected to the input terminal ADi, andoutputs the control signal Sa indicating that the AC adaptor 51 isconnected to the input terminal ADi, and the charging control circuit 45controls the PWM control circuit 5 to charge the secondary cell 52.

When the AC adaptor 51 is not connected to the input terminal ADi, thevoltage on the input terminal ADi lowers. Upon detecting a loweredvoltage on the input terminal ADi, the adaptor detection circuit 44detects that the AC adaptor 51 is disconnected from the input terminalADi, and outputs the control signal Sa to the charging control circuit45 indicating that the AC adaptor 51 is not connected to the inputterminal ADi. The charging control circuit 45 stops operations of thePWM control circuit 5 to stop charging the secondary cell 52.

In this state, the substrate gate of the switching transistor M1 isconnected to the source of the switching transistor M1 through theselection switch SW1, and as a result, a current path is formed throughthe secondary cell 52, the output terminal BTo, the resistor 42, theinductor L, the parasitic diode D2, the COM terminal of the selectionswitch SW1, the S terminal of the selection switch SW1, and the inputterminal ADi. On the input terminal ADi, a voltage close to the voltageof the secondary cell 52 is generated.

When the voltage on the input terminal ADi is less than or equal to thevoltage on the output terminal BTo, the input output comparator 6connects the COM terminal to the D terminal. When the voltage on theinput terminal ADi is lowered to the voltage on the output terminal BTo,the input output comparator 6 controls the selection switch SW1 toconnect the substrate gate with the drain of the switching transistorM1. At the same time, the input output comparator 6 turns on the switchSW2 to connect the gate of the switching transistor M1 with the drain ofthe switching transistor M1, and stops outputting the control signal PDto the drive circuit 16 of the PWM control circuit 5 to make the outputterminal be in a high impedance state.

Due to this, the parasitic diode D1 turns out to be inserted between theoutput terminal BTo and the input terminal ADi in the reverseddirection, and this shields a current from the output terminal BTo, andhence, the voltage on the input terminal ADi further decreases.

In this way, in response to the difference between the voltage on theinput terminal ADi and the voltage on the output terminal BTo, the inputoutput comparator 6 switches the substrate gate of the switchingtransistor M1 to connect to the source or the drain of the switchingtransistor M1, so that even when a voltage source is connected to theoutput terminal BTo, it is possible to prevent the reverse directionflow of a current to the input terminal ADi. Because a dedicated (alwaysturned on) diode is not used for preventing the reverse direction flow,as in the related art, a voltage drop across the diode does not occur,it is possible to realize a charging circuit having low power efficiencydegradation.

While the present invention is above described with reference tospecific embodiments chosen for purpose of illustration, it should beapparent that the invention is not limited to these embodiments, butnumerous modifications could be made thereto by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the basic concept and scope of the invention.

For example, the selection switch SW1 and the switch SW2 may also beimplemented by using electronic circuits, for example, by a field effecttransistor, such as a MOS transistor. Instead of the synchronizationrectification transistor M2, a flywheel diode can be used.

In the above, it is described that the input output comparator 6 is apart of the switching regulator, but the input output comparator 6 mayalso be provided outside the switching regulator. In this case, theselection switch SW1 switches the connection of the substrate gate ofthe switching transistor M1 in response to a control signal from theoutside.

According to the present invention, the selection switch SW1 is providedto control connection of the substrate gate of the switching transistorM1, which is a PMOS transistor, and in response to the differencebetween the voltage on the input terminal and the voltage on the outputterminal, the input output comparator 6 controls the selection switchSW1. Therefore, it is possible to provide a switching regulator capableof preventing reverse direction flow of an electric current withoutusing a dedicated diode even when a PMOS transistor is used as aswitching element of a step-down switching regulator.

This patent application is based on Japanese Priority Patent ApplicationNo. 2004-211493 filed on Jul. 20, 2004.

1. A switching regulator that is a step-down switching regulator for converting a voltage applied on an input terminal to a predetermined voltage and outputting the predetermined voltage from an output terminal, said switching regulator comprising: a switching transistor formed from a PMOS transistor configured to switch ON or switch OFF output of the input voltage according to a control signal input to a control electrode; a smoothing circuit configured to smooth the output voltage from the switching transistor and output the smoothed voltage to the output terminal; a selection circuit configured to control connection of a substrate gate of the switching transistor according to the input control signal; and a switching transistor control circuit configured to control a switching operation of the switching transistor so that the voltage output from the output terminal becomes the predetermined voltage; wherein the selection circuit connects the substrate gate to a drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and connects the substrate gate to a source of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal.
 2. The switching regulator as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a selection control circuit that compares the voltage on the input terminal to the voltage on the output terminal, and controls the selection operation of the selection circuit according to a comparison result; wherein the selection control circuit controls the selection circuit to connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and controls the selection circuit to connect the substrate gate to the source of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal.
 3. The switching regulator as claimed in claim 2, further comprising: a switching circuit that connects a gate of the switching transistor to the drain of the switching transistor; wherein when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, based on a control signal from the selection control circuit, the switching circuit connects the gate of the switching transistor to the drain of the switching transistor while the switching transistor control circuit stops output of the control signal to the gate of the switching transistor; and when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal, based on the control signal from the selection control circuit, the switching circuit disconnects the gate of the switching transistor from the drain of the switching transistor while the switching transistor control circuit outputs the control signal to the gate of the switching transistor.
 4. The switching regulator as claimed in claim 3, wherein the smoothing circuit includes a synchronization rectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistor in series and is controlled by the switching transistor control circuit to be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, the synchronization rectification transistor, the selection circuit, the switching transistor control circuit, and the switching circuit are integrated into one IC chip.
 5. The switching regulator as claimed in claim 3, wherein the switching circuit includes a field effect transistor (FET).
 6. The switching regulator as claimed in claim 3, wherein the smoothing circuit includes a synchronization rectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistor in series and is controlled by the switching transistor control circuit to be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, the synchronization rectification transistor, the selection circuit, the selection control circuit, the switching transistor control circuit, and the switching circuit are integrated into one IC chip.
 7. The switching regulator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the selection operation of the selection circuit is controlled by an external selection control circuit according to the voltage on the input terminal and the voltage on the output terminal so that the selection circuit is controlled to connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and connect the substrate gate to the source of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is higher than the voltage on the output terminal.
 8. The switching regulator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the selection circuit includes a field effect transistor (FET).
 9. A power supply circuit, comprising: one or more step-down switching regulators configured to convert a voltage applied on an input terminal to a predetermined voltage and output the predetermined voltage from an output terminal; and one or more linear regulators; wherein the switching regulator includes a switching transistor formed from a PMOS transistor configured to switch ON or switch OFF output of the input voltage according to a control signal input to a control electrode; a smoothing circuit configured to smooth the output voltage from the switching transistor and output the smoothed voltage to the output terminal; a first selection circuit configured to control connection of a substrate gate of the switching transistor according to the input control signal, the first selection circuit connecting the substrate gate to a drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and connecting the substrate gate to a source of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal; and a switching transistor control circuit configured to control a switching operation of the switching transistor so that the voltage output from the output terminal becomes the predetermined voltage.
 10. The power supply circuit as claimed in claim 9, wherein the linear regulator comprises: a voltage control transistor that includes a PMOS transistor configured to control a current from the input terminal to the output terminal to control the voltage on the output terminal; a second selection circuit configured to control connection of the substrate gate of the voltage control transistor; a second switching transistor control circuit configured to control a switching operation of the switching transistor so that the voltage output from the output terminal becomes the predetermined voltage; a second selection control circuit that controls the selection operation of the selection circuit according to the voltage on the input terminal and the voltage on the output terminal, the second selection circuit connecting the substrate gate to a drain of the voltage control transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and connecting the substrate gate to a source of the voltage control transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal; and a voltage control transistor control circuit configured to control the voltage control transistor so that the voltage output from the output terminal becomes the predetermined voltage.
 11. The power supply circuit as claimed in claim 9, wherein the switching regulator further comprises: a first selection control circuit that compares the voltage on the input terminal to the voltage on the output terminal, and controls the selection operation of the first selection circuit according to a comparison result; wherein the first selection control circuit controls the first selection circuit to connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and controls the first selection circuit to connect the substrate gate to the source of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal.
 12. The power supply circuit as claimed in claim 11, wherein the switching regulator further comprises: a switching circuit that connects a gate of the switching transistor with the drain of the switching transistor; wherein when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, based on a control signal from the first selection control circuit, the switching circuit connects the gate of the switching transistor to the drain of the switching transistor while the switching transistor control circuit stops output of the control signal to the gate of the switching transistor; and when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal, based on the control signal from the first selection control circuit, the switching circuit disconnects the gate of the switching transistor from the drain of the switching transistor while the switching transistor control circuit outputs the control signal to the gate of the switching transistor.
 13. The power supply circuit as claimed in claim 12, wherein the smoothing circuit includes a synchronization rectification transistor connected to the switching transistor in series and controlled by the switching transistor control circuit to be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, the synchronization rectification transistor, the first selection circuit, the switching transistor control circuit, the switching circuit, and the linear regulator are integrated into one IC chip.
 14. The power supply circuit as claimed in claim 12, wherein the smoothing circuit includes a synchronization rectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistor in series and controlled by the switching transistor control circuit to be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, the synchronization rectification transistor, the first selection circuit, the first selection control circuit, the switching transistor control circuit, the switching circuit, and the linear regulator are integrated into one IC chip.
 15. The power supply circuit as claimed in claim 9, wherein the selection operation of the first selection circuit is controlled by an external selection control circuit according to the voltage on the input terminal and the voltage on the output terminal so that the first selection circuit is controlled to connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and connect the substrate gate to the source of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal.
 16. A power supply circuit, comprising: a plurality of step-down switching regulators each configured to convert a voltage applied on an input terminal to a predetermined voltage and output the predetermined voltage from an output terminal, wherein each of the switching regulators includes a switching transistor formed from a PMOS transistor configured to switch ON or switch OFF output of the input voltage according to a control signal input to a control electrode; a smoothing circuit configured to smooth the output voltage from the switching transistor and output the smoothed voltage to the output terminal; a selection circuit configured to control connection of a substrate gate of the switching transistor according to the input control signal, the selection circuit connecting the substrate gate to a drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and connecting the substrate gate to a source of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal; and a switching transistor control circuit configured to control a switching operation of the switching transistor so that the voltage output from the output terminal becomes the predetermined voltage.
 17. The power supply circuit as claimed in claim 16, wherein the switching regulator further comprises: a selection control circuit that compares the voltage on the input terminal to the voltage on the output terminal, and controls the selection operation of the selection circuit according to a comparison result; wherein the selection control circuit controls the selection circuit to connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and controls the selection circuit to connect the substrate gate to the source of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal.
 18. The power supply circuit as claimed in claim 17, wherein the switching regulator further comprises: a switching circuit that connects a gate of the switching transistor with the drain of the switching transistor; wherein when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, based on a control signal from the selection control circuit, the switching circuit connects the gate of the switching transistor to the drain of the switching transistor while the switching transistor control circuit stops output of the control signal to the gate of the switching transistor; and when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal, based on the control signal from the selection control circuit, the switching circuit disconnects the gate of the switching transistor from the drain of the switching transistor while the switching transistor control circuit outputs the control signal to the gate of the switching transistor.
 19. The power supply circuit as claimed in claim 18, wherein the smoothing circuit includes a synchronization rectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistor in series and is controlled by the switching transistor control circuit to be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, the synchronization rectification transistor, the selection circuit, the switching transistor control circuit, and the switching circuit are integrated into one IC chip.
 20. The power supply circuit as claimed in claim 18, wherein the smoothing circuit includes a synchronization rectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistor in series and is controlled by the switching transistor control circuit to be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, the synchronization rectification transistor, the selection circuit, the selection control circuit, the switching transistor control circuit, and the switching circuit are integrated into one IC chip.
 21. The power supply circuit as claimed in claim 16, wherein the selection operation of the selection circuit is controlled by an external selection control circuit according to the voltage on the input terminal and the voltage on the output terminal so that the selection circuit is controlled to connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and connect the substrate gate to the source of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal.
 22. A secondary cell charging circuit, including a step-down switching regulator configured to convert a voltage applied on an input terminal to a predetermined voltage and output the predetermined voltage from an output terminal, a secondary cell being connected to the output terminal, wherein the switching regulator comprises: a switching transistor formed from a PMOS transistor configured to switch ON or switch OFF output of the input voltage according to a control signal input to a control electrode; a smoothing circuit configured to smooth the output voltage from the switching transistor and output the smoothed voltage to the output terminal; a selection circuit configured to control connection of a substrate gate of the switching transistor according to the input control signal, the selection circuit connecting the substrate gate to a drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and connecting the substrate gate to a source of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal; and a switching transistor control circuit configured to control a switching operation of the switching transistor so that the voltage output from the output terminal becomes the predetermined voltage.
 23. The secondary cell charging circuit as claimed in claim 22, wherein the switching regulator further comprises: a selection control circuit that compares the voltage on the input terminal to the voltage on the output terminal, and controls the selection operation of the selection circuit according to a comparison result; wherein the selection control circuit controls the selection circuit to connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and controls the selection circuit to connect the substrate gate to the source of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal.
 24. The secondary cell charging circuit as claimed in claim 23, wherein the switching regulator further comprises: a switching circuit that connects a gate of the switching transistor with the drain of the switching transistor; wherein when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, based on a control signal from the selection control circuit, the switching circuit connects the gate of the switching transistor to the drain of the switching transistor while the switching transistor control circuit stops output of the control signal to the gate of the switching transistor; and when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal, based on the control signal from the selection control circuit, the switching circuit disconnects the gate of the switching transistor from the drain of the switching transistor while the switching transistor control circuit outputs the control signal to the gate of the switching transistor.
 25. The secondary cell charging circuit as claimed in claim 24, wherein the smoothing circuit includes a synchronization rectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistor in series and is controlled by the switching transistor control circuit to be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, the synchronization rectification transistor, the selection circuit, the switching transistor control circuit, and the switching circuit are integrated into one IC chip.
 26. The secondary cell charging circuit as claimed in claim 24, wherein the smoothing circuit includes a synchronization rectification transistor that is connected to the switching transistor in series and is controlled by the switching transistor control circuit to be switched on or switched off, wherein the switching transistor, the synchronization rectification transistor, the selection circuit, the selection control circuit, the switching transistor control circuit, and the switching circuit are integrated into one IC chip.
 27. The secondary cell charging circuit as claimed in claim 22, wherein the selection operation of the selection circuit is controlled by an external selection control circuit according to the voltage on the input terminal and the voltage on the output terminal so that the selection circuit is controlled to connect the substrate gate to the drain of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is less than or equal to the voltage on the output terminal, and connect the substrate gate to the source of the switching transistor when the voltage on the input terminal is greater than the voltage on the output terminal. 